Talking to myself and other fun stuff!

Posted in Friends of Baltimore, Hand-Applique Techniques, Hexagons, Ladies of the Sea, Sue Garman Pattern, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

I made a deal with myself…I couldn’t start the third border of “Friends of Baltimore” until I completed The Elissa block from Sue Garman’s “Ladies of the Sea”.

Oddly enough, I make deals with myself all the time……clean the bathroom and then you can sit and stitch…start dinner and while the pasta is cooking you can sit and stitch….get up a little earlier and you can sit and stitch. You get the picture!

So, here we go! I decided to start with the vines coming out of the bouquet. I should mention that I have traced the design on the background with a Clover water soluble marker.

I was just itching to start the vase…so that is what I did! I used the same blues as I did for the flowers in The Elissa block.

I am not going to be shy…I love the way this vase turned out!!

Next, I added a few more leaves and tiny stems.

And a few purple flowers….

Next, I added some pretty posies!

When I filled the vase with all of the flowers, something started to niggle at me. The light pink rose gets lost in the boquet.

So then, I started a conversation with myself. I guess by now you have figured out that I talk to myself…a lot!! I started to think that in real life, someone may have put a pale pink rose into a vase with brightly coloured flowers and it might look just fine. Someone else might look at the block and think it looks just fine. Maybe I am just being too critical of my work. But the reality is, I know that if it bugs me now, it is going to bug me even more once it is quilted. So I replaced the flower with one that has just a little more oomph!

Dandy!

I have added a few more rows onto my Grandmother’s Flower Garden quilt. Only two more rows to go…yippee! I have already decided (after many converastions with myself!) about how I am going to hand-quilt it. I will keep you posted!

Til next time…

Kerry

11Aug2014

Lazy Days of Summer

Posted in Amherst Island, Hexagons by Simple Bird Applique

This past weekend my husband and I travelled to Amherst Island with my sister-in-law and her husband to attend the Emerald Music Festival. We stayed in a wonderful cottage that belongs to my husband’s cousin. Not only was it filled with some awesome antiques, she also had a collection of old quilts that immediately caught my attention…this one especially. It is hand-appliqued and hand-quilted The applique pieces are pretty worn in some spots. This is the only block that has at least some of each appliqued piece. The rest are pretty faded.

I love the scalloped edge. Sadly, there was no label. (Note to self…label ALL quilts!)

We had a blast cooking breakfast on this 1952 Moffat stove…once we figured out how to turn it on!!

And best of all, I found the perfect spot to work away on my Grandmother’s Flower Garden quilt.

DSCN6000

Til next time…

Kerry

7Aug2014

Anchors Aweigh!

Posted in Hexagons, Ladies of the Sea, Sue Garman Pattern, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

Now that the leaves, flowers and most of the ship is stitched, it is time to start the anchor. It is just a teensy bit challenging, so I thought I would show you how I tackled it. You can see it is a little on the small side. Just take a deep breath!

First, I placed it on the fabric so that most of the straight pieces are on the bias rather than the straight grain.

Next, I reverse appliqued the inner circle. When I do fiddley pieces like this, I don’t cut out the whole piece at once, just the section I am working on. It is easier to handle if it a big piece of fabric. No doubt about it, this is a tiny seam allowance, so I used just a dab of Fray Check on the seam allowance.

I trimmed a small part of the seam allowance and prepped it before trimming more seam allowance…

These right angles can be tricky, so I fold the section to be prepped towards myself so I can really get my mini-iron in the corner.

That wasn’t so hard, now was it??

This is the part I really enjoy…taking the freezer paper out!

So once that was done, I placed it on the block, along with the rope, which I will be honest, was a piece of cake compared to the anchor!

Since I don’t have any handquilting on the go right now, I am managing to get my hexies stitched together. Sweet!

Til next time…

Kerry

5Aug2014

To Everything There Is A Season, Block 5

Posted in "To Everything There is a Season", Hand-Applique Techniques, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

My apologies for being a little late in getting the next block of “To Everything There Is A Season” posted. Hubby and I have been camping at a local campsite. I told him I had to come home early to get some laundry done, but really I wanted to come home to finish the block. Mum’s the word!

This block, Fall Kaleidoscope, is available on my website Simple Bird Studio, along with Blocks 1-4. You can choose from having a digital pattern emailed to you, or you can go old school and order a paper pattern. If you order the digital pattern, I will email your pattern to you as soon as I can (usually within a couple of hours).

Oddly enough, I was a little slow starting this block because I found all the points a little intimidating. Once I finally started the block, I found myself thinking that there is not one single thing in this block to be scared of. Honestly! It went together very nicely! Here are a few little hints to help you along the way…

I used 3 different shades of gold for the petals and just placed them randomly.

Next, I prepped a complete section of straw and leaves and left it on my design wall for a while. I decided the dark green leaf was too dark and so I switched it up. (Yes, you are allowed to change your mind!)